Soccer Analyst for Fox Soccer Report and Fox Soccer News 24/7 from 2001 to 2013 and I can now be seen very occasionally on Soccer Central in Canada. I have been a soccer writer and broadcaster for over 20 years and I have followed the world's game for as long as I care to remember.

If there is one thing that almost all MLS fans would agree on, it is that Toronto FC is a train wreck of a club. Since entering the league in 2007 only once has the club got within sniffing distance of a play-off spot. From the start of its existence the team has been woefully short of competent leadership – someone who knew the game, who understood finances and probably more importantly possessed a finely-tuned bull-shit detector.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After working through seven coaches in six years it looked like Toronto FC had finally woken to the need for someone who actually knew how to run a MLS club. Kevin Payne, the only President and CEO DC United has ever known, decided it was time to move on to a new challenge and what bigger challenge could there be than taking on a close to perennial cellar-dweller?

The announcement of Payne’s appointment was met with something close to unanimous approval by Toronto fans and media.

Press releases announcing player acquisitions and departures started to appear – not surprising when a new man is put in charge. A change of coach in such circumstances is a fairly common occurrence and sure enough last week, it was announced that Paul Mariner who just took over in June 2012 from the much heralded Aron Winter, was to be replaced in turn.

But it was at that point that things took a most bizarre turn. Payne announced that the new coach of Toronto FC would be 35 year-old Ryan Nelsen. Thirty-five is young for a coach but appointing someone so young is not all that unusual. What is unusual is picking and signing someone who is contractually bound and who will almost certainly still be playing for another team in another league thousands of miles away when the 2013 MLS season gets going…..and for around three months after that.

(And there is also a little matter of Nelsen not holding any coaching badges but more on that later.)

Ryan Nelsen during his stint with DC United . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nelsen plays for Queens Park Rangers, a side currently struggling to stay in the financially lucrative Barclays Premier League and he has been one of their few reliable performers this season.

But, in one fell swoop Payne took a healthy emotional deposit with Toronto fans and bet the farm. It is a position that you would desperately try to get yourself out of let alone one that Payne has embraced willingly.

So, if Nelsen is in England, who will run the show in the meantime? That lucky man will be Fran O’Leary who was also appointed last week as Toronto FC Assistant Coach and Director of Player Recruitment. For the last seven years O’Leary has been the Head Coach at Bowdoin College’s Men’s Soccer program.

It is difficult to chart a scenario where all can win. If O’Leary performs miracles (in this case it would amount to any number of wins greater than two) while filling in for Nelsen then Payne by moving O’Leary aside will have created a stick for Nelsen’s back.

If O’Leary flops then Nelsen inherits a demoralized team that with a third of the season gone could be looking up at the rest of the Eastern Conference once again as the top five threaten to disappear over play-off hill.

And what about the players? A wise man once said that the coaches main job is make sure that he has left his players with no excuses for a poor performance. It would seem to me that Payne has just offered the Toronto 2013 squad a bumper crop of reasons why loses are not their fault.

All in all Payne’s decision is one of a maverick – it could work but the chances are very slim. Given the situation Toronto FC was in need of a safe pair of hands but instead the head coach position has been handed to an apprentice.

A selection of quotes from Toronto FC sources last week

“Toronto FC will open the seventh season in club history, and first for newly appointed Head Coach Ryan Nelsen on Saturday, March 2 in Vancouver against the Whitecaps FC. …..

Nelsen, a native of Christchurch, brings a wealth of soccer experience to his new role at Toronto FC from Major League Soccer, the English Premier League and New Zealand’s National team with more than 400 professional appearances. Nelsen began his football career with Christchurch United in New Zealand, making 96 team appearances and posting 12 goals between 1995 and 1998.” – TFC press release

Yes, they might start the season with Nelsen listed as manager but even if he survives he will only be in charge for two/thirds of the season. And perhaps someone can explain why Nelsen’s record as a player has anything to do with what he might bring as a Head Coach?

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